Thursday Themes

Good to be back in Utah, though we could use some of that white stuff....  Spare a prayer or two for us?

There Will Be Blood - We'll start with this shocker:

PGA Tour pros say viability of would-be rival tour hinges largely on one thing: money

Wow!  Who coulda seen that one coming?

Here's a quick guide for you folks.  When they say it's not about the money, it's about the money.  Counter-intuitively, when they say it's all about the money, it's all about the money...

Now Jay Monahan, the fourth commissioner of the PGA Tour, is facing the biggest challenge of his three years as commissioner: how to deal with an upstart group called 

A subtle graphic to drive home their point.

the Premier Golf League that wants to fund and run a world tour that would consist of 18 events, each featuring 48 players, where first-place prize money, according to one agent with knowledge of the proposal, would be a minimum of $5 million, and could be double that. 

Last week, when the Tour made its annual stop at Torrey Pines, Monahan met with members of the 16-man Player Advisory Council and gave them a clear message: Talk to whomever you want about anything you want, but (as they say on the Showtime Wall Street drama Billions) know this: Nobody will be a member of both the PGA Tour and the Premier Golf League.

It was the smartest thing the commissioner could possibly say, because if the PGL really happened, the PGA Tour would quickly become golf’s version of AAA baseball. It would be a feeder league.

Perhaps, but as obvious as it is smart.  No one actually says, "Go ahead and drink my milkshake"...  At least, not in my experience.  As for feeder leagues, hold that thought for a sec.

The modern PGA Tour in a nonprofit organization that raises millions for all manner of good causes but looks and operates much more like an international business, with highly paid executives, corporate jets, vast real-estate holdings and an enormous marketing and PR operation. It hasn’t been a mom-and-pop operation for well more than a half-century. You could make the case that its top players have been vastly underpaid, in comparison to what leading NBA players, NFL players and MLB players were making. That was true in the Norman-Nick Faldo-Nick Price era and it remains true in the Tiger Woods-Rory McIlroy-Justin Thomas era. That gives the PGL an open door to start a conversation with these top-48 players.

But, is that actually true?  The only logical basis on which to judge this would be as a percentage of the revenue stream generated, but we don't often think of these guys as impoverished.

 Here are the, errr...., money 'graphs:

But golf does not enjoy a deep list of brand-name players and that is an inherent problem. A multiple-time Tour winner said last week: “If you take Tiger out of the equation, how much do these other guys attract enough interest to get this off the ground? Tiger is the only one who moves the needle. You look around Torrey Pines this week and 75 percent of the fans are following him. What does that tell you? Rory is a wonderful player and certainly a drawcard, but he doesn’t have the magnetism Tiger does. Brooks is injured a lot. 

“The money will have to be massive because the risk of getting banned by the PGA Tour has to be an obvious concern. There’s also the issue of what this new tour’s retirement package is going to pay, compared to the PGA Tour. Some of these top players, their retirement packages are going to be astronomical. Unless they are matching that, I don’t know if it will ever work.” 

Upstart golf leagues have a long history of not working. In the end there is one thing that could make this one different: cold, hard cash. 

“It depends on the money,” said a fourth player, who also has multiple Tour wins. “There is such big earning potential on the PGA Tour. So, it would need to be a crapload of money to entice players to come across. I don’t know about everyone, but I know I’ve got a price.”

OK, Brooks needs to do a quick update of his grievance list....  But yeah, and a guaranteed crapload, at that...  

In theory, they would need to go and cut these deals with each and every one of the top 48 players, each of whom will tend towards the highly risk averse.  

Shack has very much been driving this train, though at one critical juncture the PGL pulled the rug out from under him in releasing their lengthy Q&A.  Today he's back with a subject that I too have mused about, the ebb and flow of players in and out of the top ranks.  Geoff leads his most recent post with this:

I recently mentioned on a podcast or two what I saw as one apparent gaping hole in the World Golf Group’s proposed Premier Golf League: where will the next stars come from? And where might players struggling in the league lland if they are not playing at an elite level? 

Turns out, the group addressed this too.

Wow, these guys think of everything....  It's even color-coded, so I'm sure it's resolved all your issues.

Of course, shouldn't that American Championship box be labelled "PGA Tour", since they assured us they were going to work together.  And who wants to break it them that golf is played elsewhere in the world as well, including that growing Saudi golf scene.

The key points: 

—Planned as a year-two concept following the establishment of the primary Premier Golf League. This means 2023, based on the current proposed timing. 

—The “tiered feeder structure” plays under a “Global Series” format, featuring three tiers defined by region: America, Europe and Asia.

—It will provide “enhanced earning opportunities for the “leading 264 touring professionals” to “cater for and enfranchise the next layer of professional golfers and generate a coherent, compelling and correlated, multi- layered seasonal narrative." B-speak translation: feeder tours taking on the PGA Tour/Korn Ferry/Asian Tour/European Tour.

—The three regions will each create a winner and provide “guaranteed, exclusive access to the Premier Golf League.” 

—The Premier Golf League intends to fill “any gap” in earnings compared to current standards on their respective tours, and offer this less-than-subtle jab: “although should such a situation arise it would suggest that the leading players are currently subsidizing the earnings of less well-known players on existing tours.” 

—The PGL will pay a “subsistence fee” to cover travel and accommodation costs.

But I'm most interested in an explanation of their plans for relegation, because that should have heads exploding.  So, best case scenario, the PGA Tour can pass muster as the PGL's American feeder tour, which I'm sure will satisfy Jay Monahan's career objectives.

Now comes an "Of all the gin joints" moment to savor....  First, Geoff just happened to have this as his header quote yesterday: 

Tour pros would rather go through an IRS audit than play in a pro-am. Publicly they say they love meeting interesting people and how great the pro-ams are. In truth, they loathe them. They're out there for six hours, see countless bad shots and hear the same stale jokes. TOM WEISKOPF

So, imagine your humble blogger's surprise at this item:

Five-time major winner Phil Mickelson played with some of the key figures in the move

to establish a Premier Golf League, involving just 48 players and also including a team format, in the pro-am at Royal Greens Golf Club in King Abdullah Economic City on the Red Sea coast.

In what was certainly no coincidence, the 49-year-old was the target of a sales pitch by a group that included Majed Al-Sorour, CEO of the Saudi Golf Federation, indicating that Saudi Arabian money is behind a billion dollar start-up investment.

Also trying to hammer home how they think the new circuit can give professional golf a shake up to make it more appealing to TV companies, sponsors and fans, were three other key stakeholders.

WTF?   So, Mr. Pelley, you're allowing the guys attempting to put you out of business to play in your nice little Pro-Am.  You're not very smart, are you?

Let me just add that a month or so ago we were wondering why Phil would pass on Phoenix, where he's considered a local, for the greener pastures of Saudi Arabia...  I think we have our answer... Despite early reports, he did not go for the waters...

But sit back and enjoy a laugh for a moment at their courting of Phil.  You're a BSD that can raise the billion large to take on the PGA, in a league that can't start until 2022 at the earliest.  Your mission statement is built on the premise of providing a forum for the best of the best to compete against each other, and your first target of opportunity is player unlikely to ever again sniff the top 50 in the world?  Good luck with that, guys.

JT In - One out of three is good in baseball:

As speculation ramps up about who will (or won’t) represent the U.S. at the Tokyo Olympics this summer, Justin Thomas left little doubt about his aspirations to represent his country. 

Thomas is currently ranked No. 4 in the world, with only world No. 1 Brooks Koepka ahead of him among American players. With the top four Americans at the June 22 cutoff expected to qualify, it puts him in great position to potentially make his Olympic debut in July. 

“There’s no scenario for me (to skip the Olympics if qualified),” Thomas said. “It’s just different. It’s once in every four years, and you have the opportunity to do it.”

I just want to make Olympic Golf great again...  The red hat is a good start.

Phoenix On My Mind - I've made my peace with this week's event, relieved that it remains a mostly amusing one-off.  One has to admit that the local community is all-in on the event, and not just that ditsy blonde that says she attends the Phoenix Open every night.  Here's a good backgrounder on the Thunderbirds:

Recognized around the Phoenix area as a brotherhood of softhearted movers and shakers, 

the all-volunteer Thunderbirds are known to golf fans across the country as the pooh­bahs behind the Waste Management Phoenix Open, the best-attended stop on the PGA Tour. 

Famed for its raucous atmosphere, the event is a week of orches­trated bedlam. But even in the madness, The Thunder­birds are impossible to miss. Dressed in their signature blue velvet tunics and silver concho belts, with their namesake Native American emblem — a thunderbird­ draped as a pendant around their necks — they fan out on the grounds, tending to a litany of logistics at a tourna­ment they spend the whole year planning. 

It’s no small task, with no small impact. In 2019 alone, the event raised $13.2 million for local charities, pushing the tournament’s all-time fundraising total to $147 million. 

“Over the years, they’ve turned their tournament into a premier golf event,” says Shannon Clancy, associate exec­utive director of St. Vincent de Paul, a nonprofit devoted to serving the poor that has received more than $1.2 mil­lion from The Thunderbirds. “But really what they’ve done is transform it into a tremendous force for good.”

But surely, in this day and age, those native American emblems must be viewed as a hate crime...  Just sayin'.  This event works, especially on Super Bowl weekend, and I begrudgingly agree with this as well:

Phoenix Open crowds would make for an epic Ryder Cup at TPC Scottsdale

Yes, but it's more than about the crowds, as they finally acknowledge:

Lehman also has been a long-time advocate of that move, largely because of the crowd factor, especially with the stadium-style design of the course, but also because of the

excitement the matches might generate over the risk-reward back nine. That has been seen repeatedly with dramatic finishes since the Open moved to the course in 1986. 

“I pushed really hard for a long time for them to use TPC Scottsdale as a venue,” Lehman said. “Number one, it’s a tremendous match-play golf course, especially over the last nine holes. The drama coming down the stretch is just phenomenal.

The obvious comparison is with Bethpage.  Not only do I trust the fans in Phoenix a little more than the New Yorkers, but the golf course seems purpose built for match play.  Bethpage, alas, is a dreary slog.....  Think about that as you watch the golf this week.

I feel no need to tune in for this, though:

David Feherty, Gary McCord reunite for comedy show in Phoenix

Well, Gary had no difficulty fitting this into his schedule.

More interesting, perhaps, is an assessment of Feherty's move to NBC.  On the one hand, they don't seem to know how to utilize him to best effect...  On the other, he might have avoided the fate of Kostis and McCord in jumping ship.

As Seen On Milk Cartons... -  I'm really unclear on what provoked this article from John Huggan:

The Hazeltine Six: Europe's 2016 Ryder Cup rookies still feel the pain of a disappointing loss

He's kidding, right?  How many can you name?  

Chris Wood. Rafa Cabrera-Bello. Matthew Fitzpatrick. Danny Willett. Andy Sullivan. Thomas Pieters. All were part of captain Darren Clarke’s team four years ago, one that went down, 17-11, to a powerful American team led by Davis Love III. But none of the six retained their places as Europe, under Thomas Bjorn’s captaincy, regained the trophy two years on. 

And don’t imagine any of them are not well aware of their collective place in Ryder Cup history. While making the 12-strong side is surely a pressing ambition for just about every European golfer, for Wood, Cabrera-Bello, Fitzpatrick, Willett, Sullivan and Pieters, a second appearance would bring with it the possibility of a fulfilling redemption. 

All six, no matter how many points they did or did not accumulate in Minnesota, admit to having unfinished business with the biennial battle. Not one, not even Pieters, who won four and lost only one of his five matches, looks back on his ultimate experience with anything other than a feeling of deflation. And within each man lurks a deep desire to heal a festering wound.

I don't know, John, I'm having trouble deciding why I would care.  It's a brutal game we play, but a Chris Wood or Andy Sullivan's festering wounds are hardly anyone else's concern.

It is of moderate interest to see the career paths of guys like Willett and Pieters, the latter being the biggest disappointment.  he looked to be quite the stud, yet it hasn't quite panned out that way.  Willett, of course, had that God-awful experience triggered by his brother, which was of moderate interest at the time.  While his game seems trending in the right direction, not to the extent of delivering on the promise created by his Masters win.

Huggan does make an interesting case about how such marginal players are used within the context of the event:

Pieters’ point about the role of most rookies is well made. Another thing the “Hazeltine Six” have in common—with the possible exception of Willett—is that they arrived as the bottom half of Clarke’s side. Not many were expected to play more than three times in the five series of matches. 

“It can be a bit of a shock to the system,” says Andrew Coltart, who played under Mark James’ captaincy in a losing European effort at Brookline in 1999. “You make your first Ryder Cup team by playing well. So you get there thinking you are going to play three games, maybe four. Then you end up being out there only twice. That’s a bit of a kick in the crotch. You play only once before the singles, just to make sure you get a game before Sunday. Maybe, like me, you play only in the singles. Whatever, you are very aware of your place in the scheme of things. It’s never said out loud, but you have a relatively minor role. And that can be a blow to your confidence going forward. Especially if you are part of what turns out to be a losing team.”

James did that to three players, which worked like a charm until it didn't.  

Of course, I have my own unique take on Huggan's piece.  This was quite obviously an historically weak Euro team, playing an away game.  So, that vaunted U.S. Ryder Cup Task Force?  It's one accomplishment has been to beat said historically weak team at home.  I can't help but think they promised us more....